Monday, November 24, 2014

Mike Ditka wasn't the only Rookie of the Year in Pro Football for the 1961 season. Earl Faison was named AFL Rookie of the Year. The All American from University of Indiana was drafted by both the Detroit Lions and the San Diego Chargers. Although the Chargers were known for their offensive prowess, their defense had great nicknames. Faison and his linemates were known as the "Fearsome Foursome" and the backs were known as the "Seven Bandits".

This was only the second year for the AFL and already the Los Angeles Chargers had become the San Diego Chargers. Just prior to its first year, the AFL lost one of its 8 charter members, the Minnesota Vikings to the NFL the other owners scrambled to add the Oakland Raiders to the league.

Friday, November 21, 2014

It has been a while since I posted some of the missing Rookie of the Year football cards. Here is the 1961 NFL Rookie of the Year, Mike Ditka. I don't think I need to go into depth on his Hall of Fame career as both a player and coach. But you might notice that he is not wearing his normal number 89. Ditka wore 89 at the University of Pittsburgh from 1958-1960 but was given the number 82 after being drafted by the Bears in 1961. The 89 uniform was being worn by kicker John Aveni. When Aveni was cut during training camp, Ditka was given 89 again. When the franchise retired his number last season they said it would be the last digits retired by the Bears.

Even though 89 is the only number he wore as a Bear after his rookie training camp, you can see that Topps used a photo from the 1961 training camp on their 1962 card.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

19 players received Rookie of the Year votes in 1981. Only one player made it into the Fleer set, Fernando Valenzuela. This could have been remedied by the addition of multi-player rookie cards. Topps had 9 of the 19, all of whom appeared on multi-player "Future Stars" cards in the regular set. (Topps was also the only manufacturer to have a traded set in 1981, but that is a conversation for another day.)

Here is a multi-player rookie card that would have fit right into the 1981 Fleer set. Coincidentally, it includes the 4 remaining Rookie of the Year candidates not included in any 1981 set or my last 2 posts.

Shooty Babitt was a one season wonder. He began his MLB career hitting safely in each of his first 7 games. He ended his only MLB season with a .254 batting average. Although his playing career was short, he still remained on the scene. He was a scout for years with the Mets and the A's. This past season he was a color commentator on Comcast Sportsnet California.

Brad Havens was one of 3 Minnesota Twins to receive ROY votes in the strike-shortened 1981 season. The other 2 were outfielders, Gary Ward and Dave Engle. They appeared on the same "Future Stars" card in the 1981 Topps set. Havens was 3-6 in 12 starts for the last place Twins in 1981. He played for 5 different teams over his 8 season MLB career garnering a 24-37 record.

Mike Witt led the league in hit batsmen in 1981 and posted a record of 8-9 for the Angels who finished 5th in the AL West. Witt would go on to have a solid career with the Angels. He was their opening day pitcher from 1985-1989 and was named to the All Star team in 1986 and 1987.

Rich Gedman was named Sporting News Rookie of the Year in 1981. The Sporting News named separate ROYs for pitchers and position players from 1963-2003. He was Carlton Fisk's replacement in Boston after Fisk signed with the White Sox. Gedman spent 11 seasons as the Boston backstop.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

In 1981 there were 17 players receiving Rookie of the Year votes. Topps managed to get 9 of them into the 1981 set. All of them on multi-player "Future Stars" cards. Donruss only managed to include 2 players. Tim Raines and Mookie Wilson. Both of them got their own regular issue card. Had Donruss made multi-player rookie cards in 1981, they might have included more of these rookies. Donruss wouldn't make "Rated Rookie" cards until 1983. Here is what a multi-player Rated Rookie card from the inaugural Donruss set might have looked like.

Bob Ojedawas 6-2 in 10 starts for the Red Sox in the strike-shortened 1981 season. That was enough to finish 3rd in AL voting. He went onto have a solid 15 year MLB career. A career that was perhaps shortened by a tragic boating accident. After going 6-9 for the Dodgers in 1992, Ojeda was traded to the Indians. During spring training, his new teammate Tim Crews took Ojeda ans Steve Olin boating and crashed into a pier. Crews and Olin were killed. Ojeda survived but missed most of the season recovering from both the physical and emotional injuries. He was signed by the Yankees for the 1994 season but was released after pitching just 3 innings.

George Bellbatted .233 in just 163 at bats in the 1981 season. Somehow that was enough to earn a couple ROY votes but not enough to remain on the Blue Jays' roster for the 1982 season. In 1982 he returned to the minors then was plagued by injuries and illness. It wasn't until 1984 that he became a regular in the Toronto line-up. In 1987 he was the AL MVP. On this card I used the "Jorge" spelling of his name because that is what all the card manufacturers used in 1982. This despite the fact that his facsimile autograph on his 1982 Topps card is clearly spelled with a "G". In 1984 Donruss began spelling his name with a "G". Fleer followed suit in 1985. Topps finally used his preferred spelling in 1987. This is the same company that called Roberto Clemente "Bob" until 1970.

Juan Bonilla had a career year his rookie season. He hit .290 and with Ozzie Smith at shortstop, Bonilla turned 72 double plays, 2nd best in the league. He was released by the Padres just before the 1984 season and sat out the whole season. In 1985 he was signed by the Yankees and spent most of the season playin AAA ball. By the end of 1987 his playing career was over.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

If you were watching the World Series you probably saw the Giants' pitching coach Dave Righetti. Lets face it, if you are reading this, not just looking at the pictures, you are as big a baseball geek as I am. So it is safe to assume you watched it. Well, Righetti was the 1981 A.L. Rookie of the Year. He went 8-4 in 15 starts for the pennant winning Yankees. He was also one of eight players receiving Rookie of the Year votes that did not have a card in 1981. This seem especially egregious since there were now 3 card companies to choose from.

There were 17 players in 1981 who received Rookie of the Year consideration. Of them only one appeared on a card in the 1981 Fleer set. The N.L. Rookie of the Year, Fernando Valenzuela. The 1981 Donruss set had two candidates, Tim Raines and Mookie Wilson. All 3 of these players also appeared in the 1981 Topps set along with 6 others to bring Topps total to 9 of the 17.

In the next couple posts, I'll be addressing the lack of rookies in the new-in-1981 baseball card sets.

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Another 25 cards in the books, another checklist. This one is taken from the 1957 Topps Football set. This set had short-printed, unnumbered checklists inserted randomly into packs. These were nice looking checklist. The fact that most kids used them for their intended purpose coupled with their short print runs make unmarked versions extremely rare and expensive.

The bulk of the cards on this list are from the 2014 Post Season. I also made a few cards of my fantasy football team. If you want to see all the cards on this checklist in one place click here.

Friday, October 31, 2014

Once again this year I tried to capture this season's Championship Series using the format of vintage Topps cards. In 2013, I began with a 1960 Topps World Series style card for Game 1and continued on through 1966. This year I picked up where I left off with the 1967 Topps World Series style card for Game 1 and ending with this 1974 style card. The 1967 - 1970 cards originally used black and white photos. I chose aesthetics over authenticity.

This was an exciting series to watch. The Series went seven games with the Giant winning 4 games to 3. The Royals skipped the post season for 28 years then came within 90 feet of tying up game 7 in 2014.

In Game 1 Hunter Pence homered in the 1st, doubled in the 4th, scored twice and had 2 RBIs. In all the Giants had 11 hits by 8 different players as they took an early lead in the series.

Giants 7

Royals 1

Giants lead series 1-0

The Royals stormed back in Game 2. Omar Infante capped a 5-run 6th inning with a 2-run homer off Hunter Strickland. The frustrated Strickland then stared down Salvador Perez and exchanged pleasantries causing the Royals bench to momentarily clear. Cooler heads prevailed and the game continued without incident.

Giants 2

Royals 7

Series even 1-1

In game 3 it was the pitching that made news. Specifically relief pitching. The Royal bullpen was awesome, quieting the Giants prolific bats. I'd write more about the game but with the newspaper format of the 1969 Topps card, it hardly seems necessary.

Royals 3

Giants 2

Royals lead series 2-1

The Giants bats were back with a vengeance in Game 4. 11 different players shared 16 hits including relief pitcher Yusmeiro Petit who also got the win. Joe Panik had 2 doubles and a sac-bunt. He also scored twice and had 2 RBIs. The Royals had 12 hits but were held scoreless after the 3rd inning.

Royals 4

Giants 11

Series even 2-2

Maddy Bum got his second World Series win in style, a complete-game shutout. He struck out 8 Royals giving up only 4 hits and no walks.

Royals 0

Giants 5

Giants lead the series 3-2

After giving their bullpen the night off in game 5, the Giants relievers were called into action in just the 2nd inning of Game 6. The Royals exploded for 10 runs after getting shut out in the last game. Mike Moustakas's 7th inning blast ended a 36 inning home run drought. The longest in World Series play since 1945. The victim once again was Hunter Strickland. Strickland had only 7 inning of regular season MLB experience. In the 2014 post season he gave up 6 homers in just 8 1/3 innings.

Giants 0

Royals 10

Series even 3-3

With 2 days rest after his complete game shutout in Game 5, Madison Bumgarner took the mound for the final 5 inning of Game 7. Once again he held the Royals scoreless, earning the save and the World Series MVP. This game also had the first overturned call in World Series play. Eric Hosmer was ruled out at 1st in a brilliant double play. Initially the umpire called him safe but manager Bruce Bochy successfully challenged the call.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

The Giants beat the Royals 3-2 in Game 7 of the World Series last night. It was an exciting finish to a great World Series. You might even say a great post-season. Both teams were wildcards and had to overcome a single-elimination Wildcard Game, the Divisional Series and the Championship Series just to get here.

For this card, I could have gone so many different ways. The most obvious choice would be the MVP Madison Bumgarner who came in on relief after pitching a complete-game shutout in Game 5. He ended up pitching 5 more shutout innings and got the Save after earning the Win in both Game 1 and Game 5.

Another choice could have been the "Kung Fu Panda" Pablo Sandoval. In Game 7 he was on base in every plate appearance. He had 2 singles, a double and was hit by a pitch. He scored 2 of the Giants 3 runs and even caught the last out of the series. A foul pop-up with a the tying run on 3rd.

Instead I went with the first call ever to be overturned in the World Series. In the bottom of the 4th Eric Hosmer drove the ball up the middle which was stopped by a diving Joe Panik, who turned out to be "Joe Cool". Panik flipped the ball out of his glove to shortstop Brandon Crawford who turned the double play attempt to Brandon Belt. Hosmer dove into first and was called safe. The Giants challenged the call and it was overturned. After seeing the relay from several angles, it was the right call. But the closeness of this call was really indicative of how close this series was.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

In Game 6 the Giants were shelled by the Royals 10-0 forcing a Game 7 in Kansas City. In the 2nd inning the Royals scored 7 runs on 5 singles and 2 doubles driving both the starter, Jake Peavy and relief pitcher, Yusmeiro Petit out of the game.

Mike Moustakas went 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored. His homer in the 7th ended the longest homerless streak in World Series play since 1945. He homered off Hunter Strickland who also gave up the last World Series homerun 36 innings earlier in the 6th inning of Game 2. This was Strickland's 6th post season homer in just 8 1/3 innings.

Yordano Ventura paid tribute to his AA teammate and friend Oscar Taveras who died in an auto accident . He sharpied RIP O.T. #18 on his cap, glove and shoes. He then went out and pitched 7 solid innings holding the Giants scoreless.

Monday, October 27, 2014

Madison Bumgarner dominated the Royals in Game 5. Kansas City was held to only 4 hits, 1 each in the 1st, 2nd, 5th and 7th. Not once were the hitters allowed to advance nor did he give up a single base on balls. The Giants offense continued to take what they were given. The had 12 hits by 8 different players. Only one of which was of the extra base variety. With the series returning to Kansas City down 3 games to 2, the Royals will have their hands full if the continue to hit on all cylinders.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

San Francisco scored 11 runs to knot the series at 2 games each. 11 different Giants players had hits last night. Joe Panik had a big game for the home team with 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, 2 runs scored and a sacrifice bunt.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

The Royals took a 2-1 lead in the series on the strength of their bullpen. Brandon Finnegan, who was pitching for TCU in the College World Series 4 months ago, was the Royals #1 pick in the June Draft. He was brought into the game ion the bottom of the 7th with 1 out and Hunter Pence on first. With the Royals clinging to a 3-2 lead, he got Juan Perez to fly out to Alex Gordon in left. He then struck out Brandon Crawford. The Royals then brought in Wade Davis who was perfect in the 8th. Then Greg Holland pitched a perfect 9th. The Royals' All-Star closer got his 7th save of the post season.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

The Royals' 5-run 6th inning evened up the series and also raised questions about San Francisco's bullpen. Strickland's fast ball has virtually no movement. He made the jump from AA Richmond to the Giants where he pitched only 7 inning during the regular season. In the post-season he has given up 5 long balls in just 5.1 innings. After the damage was done, Bruce Bochy brought in Tim Lincecum for clean up duty. But Lincecum left the game with stiffness in his lower back. The Giants will try to find answers as the Series moves to San Francisco for Game 3 Friday night.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

For the 2014 World Series I plan on making a highlight card of each game. I began this last year. For Game 1 I used a 1960 Topps design, Game 2, 1961, etc. This year I picked up with the 1967 design. The Topps World Series cards from 1967-70 used black and white photos. I decided not to go for authenticity. I just think Topps could have used color photos for those cards. After all they had used color photos from 1960-1965. Here is a link to a recap of last year's World Series Cards That Never Were.

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When Hunter Pence went yard in the first inning, I was already thinking about those signs popping up in every ballpark. After he doubled and scored in the 4th my mind was made up. I had already committed to straying from the original 1967 Topps design in that I wanted to use color photos. Now I wanted the card to reflect the kind of signs that follow Pence around. It all began, like many other trends, in New York. A couple fans held up signs that said "Hunter Pence eats pizza with a fork" and "Hunter Pence puts ketchup on his hot dog". Since then these meme-like ballpark signs have gone viral. They have even spawned their own twitter hash-tag #hunterpencesigns.

Oh, by the way, the Giants dominated Game 1. Madison Bumgarner gave up only 2 hits and no runs through 6 and 2/3 innings. With 2 outs in the 7th Salvador Perez homered off Bumgarner to give the Royals their only run. Pence had a 2 run homer in the first, doubled and scored in the 4th and was walked twice. The Royals lost their first post season game since October 23, 1985. They lost Game 4 of the 1985 World Series to the Cardinals. They went on to win Games 5,6 &7. This Year they won the Wildcard game and swept both the Divisional and Championship Series. The Giants ended the Royals' streak at 11 straight post season victories.

Thursday, October 16, 2014

The Giants host the Cardinals in Game 5 tonight in the NLCS. The Cardinals hope for an I-70 series is fading as they head into tonight's game down 3 games to 1.

The Giants' regular season batting leader, Buster Posey is hitting .295 in the 2014 post season up to now.

Madison Bumgarner led the team in the regular season with a 2.98 ERA. In the post season he has given up only 2 runs in 23 2/3 innings. He as had 3 solid outings. He's won 2 games and lost 1. In the game he lost to the Nationals he went 6 scoreless innings before he gave up 3 runs in the 7th (2 earned).

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Weather permitting, the Royals will be hosting Game 3 of the ALCS versus the Orioles tonight. Last night's match was postponed by rain.

At this point in the postseason, Lorenzo Cain has been hitting .380 with 3 doubles, 4 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He led the Royals in the regular season with a .301 average.

Yordano Ventura was the Royals pitching leader during the regular season posting a 3.20 ERA. He narrowly edged out James Shields who had a 3.21 ERA. Both pitchers had 14 wins during the season. In the postseason, Ventura has yet to get a decision in 3 games.

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Cardinals first baseman, Matt Adams led the team in 2014 with a .288 average. He had just 3 hits in the Divisional Series but his 3rd hit was a 3 run homer off Clayton Kershaw. That proved to be the final nail in the Dodgers' coffin.

Adam Wainright led the Cards with a 2.38 ERA in the regular season. In game one of the Divisional Series Wainwright got crushed. He gave up 6 runs on 11 hits. He left the game after pitching just 4 and 1/3 innings with the Dodgers ahead 6-1. The Cards would come back to win 10-9 in a 26-hit slugfest.

Friday, October 10, 2014

Tonight the Orioles host the Royals in Game 1 of the ALCS. I'm keeping with the 1984 Topps theme for the Championship Series. I used only players that met the official minimum plate appearances of 502 and 162 innings pitched.

The 2014 Orioles Batting leader during the Regular season was Adam Jones with a .281 batting average. In the Divisional Series, Jones had only 2 hits for an anemic .182 batting average.

Chris Tillman led the eligible Oriole pitchers with a 3.34 ERA. He won his only start in the Divisional Series. He went 5 innings giving up only 2 runs and striking out 6.

Monday, October 6, 2014

Frank Howard, of course, never played for the Nationals. Personally, I don't really understand the Nationals. When it was clear the Expos were moving to Washington, the management seemed to want to distance themselves from both the Expos and Senators franchise histories. Nationals Park, however, has statues of Walter Johnson of the first Senators franchise, Frank Howard of the second Senators franchise, and Josh Gibson of the Homestead Grays. The Grays were based in the Pittsburgh area but from 1940-1950 they played half of their home games in D.C.

With all the statues to chose from at AT&T Park, I had to go with the trademark leg kick of Juan Marichal. Marichal was a ten-time all-star for the Giants. He had 2 All Star wins and gave up only 1 earned run in 18 innings.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

The "Big A" in Anaheim is home to 2 statues related to the Angels. There is a statue of Michelle Carew, Rod Carew's daughter who lost her battle to leukemia in 1996. There is also a statue of Gene Autry, Hollywood's original "Singing Cowboy". Autry was the original owner of the 1961 expansion Los Angeles Angels. He ran the team until 1996 when he sold controlling interest to the Walt Disney company. The number 26 was also retired in his honor. "26" represented his contribution as the 26th man on the roster.

Dick Howser's statue in Kansas City shows him watching from the dugout steps. Howser guided the Royals to their only World Series victory which happened to be their last post season appearance. He was also an All Star shortstop for the Kansas City A's.

Friday, October 3, 2014

Dodger Stadium is another ballpark completely devoid of statues. To see a ballpark statue honoring Dodgers greats you would need to go to Brooklyn. Specifically, MCU Park, home of the Minor League Brooklyn Cyclones. Outside the park is a statue of Pee Wee Reese with his arm around the rookie Jackie Robinson. This famous gesture was recreated in the movie "42". Although Robinson played the majority of his career at 2nd, his rookie season was spent covering 1st. Robinson spent his entire MLB career in Brooklyn, retiring in 1956. Reese played one season in Los Angeles after the Dodgers moved West in 1958.

The latest Busch Stadium is surrounded by statues of Cardinal heroes; Lou Brock, Dizzy Dean, Bob Gibson, Rogers Hornsby, Stan Musial, Red Schoendienst, Enos Slaughter and Ozzy Smith. There is also a statue of Hall of Fame broadcaster Jack Buck and 2 Hall of Famers from other St. Louis Teams. George Sisler the Browns and Cool Papa Bell of the St. Louis Stars. The Statue of Stan Musial was moved to its current location from the 2nd Busch Stadium where it stood since 1968.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Camden Yards is home to a who's who of Oriole greats: Ripken, Murray, Palmer, Weaver, Brooks and Frank Robinson. It is also home to a statue of a young Babe Ruth who was born and raised in Baltimore and played for the 1914 Minor League Baltimore Orioles. I like the statue of Jim Palmer for not only the signature leg kick but also that great '70s hair.

Comerica Park in Detroit has statues of Tigers greats above their retired numbers along the left-center field wall; Gehringer #2, Greenberg #5, Kaline #6, Newhouser #16, and Horton #23. There is also a statue of Ty Cobb who played before the Tigers had numbers on their uniforms. Missing is a statue of Sparky Anderson whose #11 was retire in 2011.

I am a fan of Greenberg for more than just his Hall of Fame career. First he was part owner and Vice President of the 1959 pennant winning White Sox. Another reason to admire the man was his contribution in World War II. In 1940 Greenberg was the AL MVP. When he was initially drafted by the Army he was listed as "4F" he requested to be re-examined and was deemed fit. He missed mist of the 1941 season then was discharged 2 days before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He immediately voluntarily re-enlisted. He served nearly 4 years at the peak of his playing career. He returned to baseball in 1945 and hit .304 with 2 homers and 7 RBIs in the World Series helping the Tigers defeat the Cubs in what is still the Cubs' most recent Series appearance.

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

PNC park in Pittsburgh is home to 4 statues of great Pirates players (5 if you count the sculpture of Ralph Kiner's hands), Roberto Clemente, Honus Wagner, Bill Mazeroski, and Willie Stargell. There is a bust of former Pirates president, Carl Barger and 5 statues of Negro League players who were members of the Pittsburgh Crawfords and Homestead Grays; Cool Papa Bell, Smokey Joe Williams, Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and Oscar Charleston. With so many greats to choose from, I had to go with the first guy I associate with the Pirates, Roberto Clemente.

In San Francisco's AT&T Park there are statues of Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal and Orlando Cepeda. They also have a statue of a seal. This is a nod to San Francisco's minor league team from 1903-1957. The statue of Willie McCovey sits, of course, on McCovey Cove.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

For the first round of the playoffs (Including the one-game Wildcards) I created some cards featuring the various players whose statues grace their respective ball parks. I chose the 30 year old Topps card because the dual frames allows for a shot of the player along with his statue. I also just like the clean, classic design of the 1984 set.

Kauffman Stadium in Kanas City has statues of George Brett, Frank White, Dick Howser and the Kauffmans (Ewing and Murial). They are also making their first post season appearance since 1985. In 1985 White and Brett were still playing, Howser was Managing and the Kauffmans still owned the team.

The Oakland Collusium is without statues so I had to go to Philadelphia to find a member of the A's immortalized in bronze. In 1957 (3 years after the A's left Philadelphia) the statue of Connie Mack first graced a park across the street from Shibe Park which had been renamed Connie Mack Stadium in 1953. When the Phillies moved to Veterans Stadium in 1971, so did the statue. Likewise when Citzen's Bank Park was built in 2004.

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Going Horizontal

The Big Red Machine had a ridiculous 7 out of 8 position players on the All Star roster in 1976. Five of them were in the starting line up. And at the helm was their manager, Sparky Anderson. The only position player left off the All Star team was center fielder, Cesar Geronimo. Geronimo had career highs in batting with .307 and stolen bases with 22. He also earned his 3rd consecutive Gold Glove in 1976.

George Foster was also having a great year in 1976. He led the league in RBIs and finished 2nd in N.L. MVP voting to his teammate, Joe Morgan. He was also selected to his first All Star Game. Normally a left fielder, Foster was the starting center fielder and batting clean-up. In his first at bat he got an RBI on a ground out to 2nd. In the 3rd inning he went deep off Catfish Hunter scoring Joe Morgan. Those 3 RBIs were enough to earn him the All Star MVP as the N.L. coasted to its 5th straight victory 7-1.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

This is a somewhat sporadic series. I really haven't had the time to keep up with this blog as much as I used to. I decided to post a few abandoned projects; my own retro-design for 2014, the 1943 Phillies Team that never was, and the 1972 Hockey Award cards.

If you want to see all of these cards in one place along with the cards from Series 25 click on the checklists in the right margin>>>>>>

Sunday, September 21, 2014

It's already week 3 and I am just getting around to posting some fantasy football cards. I was the league champ last year, thus had a late draft this year so my team is not exactly "stacked". As anyone that plays fantasy football know, injuries are key. This season it seems that legal issues are also playing into it.. Fortunately, I steered clear of those players, now I only need my players to stay healthy.

The 3 players I picked to make cards of are: Tony Romo on a 1954 Bowman card, Calvin Johnson "Megatron" on a 1970 Topps card and Julio Jones on a 1978 Topps card.

Friday, September 19, 2014

Cleaning Out the Closet:

Part 3 - Abandoned Projects

Once again I find myself unable to post to this blog in a timely manner. So here are some more abandoned projects from the closet.

This one is a bit different. I made these and planned to use them individually but just got bored with the whole idea. So I'm dumping them all at once. It is similar to my take on the 1972 Topps award cards. I simply replaced the photo of the award with a photo of the award winner.

So here are the cards I made but hadn't published yet:

I had already posted these 2 cards in earlier posts:

And here are the original cards from that set. As you can see there was no room for the player's name so I offset the photo similar to the regular issue cards of that year:

Boring, right? Aren't you glad I didn't drag this out over 5 more posts?